One Life Dreams

I dream of going to school…

29 June, 2016

Pia lives with her mother, a street beggar, in a Bangladesh slum. As a small child, Pia was also a beggar, gathering a few taka* each day to help provide food for her mother and herself. She always dreamed of going to school. At the OneLife day-shelter for girls, Pia found a new life. No longer a beggar, she is learning skills that will give her a future and a hope. Now Pia has a new dream: “I want to be a teacher.” For Pia, going to school is a dream come true.

The day-shelter prevents child trafficking and child marriages by providing free education and skills training, meals and medical care for beggar girls. Since the girl’s shelter is free, parents are willing to let their girls go to the shelter, learn useful skills and grow up before they are married.